Dallen Stanford
Dallen grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, playing on successful rugby teams at Rondebosch Boys’ High School (Top 10 in 1997), captained the University of Cape Town u21A Ikey Tigers to a rare undefeated season in 2000, represented the UCT 1st XV from 2000-2003 including touring the famous Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the United Kingdom, and also the Tornadoes.
After emigrating to the USA, Dallen played for the Occidental Old Boys and Belmont Shore RFC, winning the 2007 Club 15s Nationals and 2009 Club 7s Nationals with the latter, as well as the ITT 7s with the Pacific Coast Grizzlies. He was selected to represent the USA Eagles from 2006-2009, playing in 12 tournaments on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, including the 2009 RWC 7s Qualifiers in the Bahamas and being a traveling reserve for the 2009 RWC 7s in Dubai.
Dallen has been a guest coach for various teams throughout the years, working closely with the University of Texas 7s squad and the Austin Huns in Texas. He coached Occidental College in 15s and 7s, helping them claim their first and only National 7s title in 2013.
Dallen helped establish non-profit Play Rugby USA in Los Angeles from 2011-2017, which used the unique qualities of rugby to empower and inspire youth, primarily from underserved communities, to go forward and realize their true potential. The program grew from 50 to over 5,000 students across 125 elementary and middle schools during that time period, with Dallen receiving the ‘Athletes in Excellence Award’ from the Global Sports Foundation, which recognizes international athletes who reach beyond their sport to create a positive impact in the world.
Since 2012 Dallen has been involved in broadcasting as a lead commentator, covering over 50 Internationals and over 500 International 7s matches. He has been the play-by-play voice for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan alongside former Springbok Joel Stransky, 2022 RWC 7s in Cape Town, 2018 RWC 7s in San Francisco, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series since 2016, 2019 World Rugby u20 Championship in Argentina, Premier Rugby Sevens, Major League Rugby (nearly 100 games), Rugby Europe Super Cup and Super Rugby Americas.
Dallen will be one of the four lead commentators on the World Feed for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, covering 11 pool matches including England vs. Argentina, South Africa vs. Scotland, Wales vs. Portugal, England vs. Japan, Italy vs. Uruguay, France vs. Namibia, South Africa vs. Ireland, Argentina vs. Chile, South Africa vs. Tonga, Wales vs. Georgia and Japan vs. Argentina.
Connection to Maccabi USA Rugby
Dallen’s uncle Alec Levin played in the first ever rugby competition at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning Gold in 1981. When teammate Kevin Armstrong found this out in 2006, he told Dallen about Maccabi USA Rugby. Since this point in time, Maccabi USA Rugby was trying to get Dallen to come play. Fortunately for Maccabi USA Rugby, Dallen retired from International 7s and playing for Maccabi USA Rugby became a reality. Dallen captained the 2013 side at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel that won Gold in 7s and Bronze in 15s, and was named Tournament MVP in 7s. He was a player/coach with Aaron Davis at the 2015 Pan American Maccabiah Games in Santiago, Chile, captaining the team to Gold in 7s and Silver in 15s. Dallen was selected as a Flag Bearer for Team USA at the Opening Ceremonies.
